H.I.S.D. (Hueston Independent Spit District) was born in 2005 through the collaboration of eight artists of varying mediums wanting to introduce a refreshing perspective to the sound and visual aesthetic of hip hop culture, classic soul music, poetry, visual art, fashion, and photography. Mutual respect and appreciation for the cultural significance and influence achieved by creatively bridging these art forms, brought Savvi (hip hop artist/entrepreneur), Equality (poet/writer/emcee/architect/visual artist), LdaVoice (emcee), Lenoge (emcee), King Midas (producer), Soul One (producer/DJ/radio personality), E-Classic (producer), and Jason ‘Flash Gordon Parks’ Woods (photographer/DJ), together to form H.I.S.D via the Peace Uv Mine Entertainment Group.

Arize: Damn, about time…real south music!

E Classic: LOL! Thanks mang!

Savvi: Really we’re just one of many. We appreciate the huge compliment none-the-less…

Arize: Give the people out there a lil bio of you guys?

Savvi: First it started off with [the group] Blak Embassy, which is Savvi and Equality. They were on tour promoting Savvi’s album ‘Hueston Chronicles’ when they came to Beaumont. King Midas and Ldavoice were going to school there and we were all booked for the same show or whatever. We exchanged numbers and us four hooked up. Scottie Spitten is King Midas’s brother, so that was a given. And we pretty much just recruited E-Classic and Soul One along the way.

Arize: With you guys in the South…Do you think ATL music has messed up the game with all these pop corn beats and MC’s?

Ldavoice: Naw, It ain’t just ATL, why people wanna just blame them? It’s been a lot of wack stuff going on all across the board. But I can’t totally blame the artist, when the whole industry is asking for and promoting wackness. It’s like baseball; you can’t totally blame Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens when the whole game is dirty.

Scottie Spitten: Honestly, in the grand scheme of things I don’t care what other artist do as far as music is concerned. People will do what they want. Just don’t ask me to dumb down or be a certain way in order to be heard. That’s the part of the game that’s frustrating. If you like that stuff that’s cool, but there are plenty of cats that like our stuff too, and they should have the opportunity to hear it and see it. There’s no balance right now. Slowly but surely, I believe there will be a gradual change.

Soul One: There’s a time and a place for everything. Just depends on your personal preferences and the setting(s) you’re in. It does affect the game overall sometimes negatively, but they’re just making music the way they know how and the way they like. Same as we are.

E.Classic: hahaha! by game do you mean the music industry? If so….not at all. Its pretty much the same. Todays underground music was mainstream music and todays mainstream music was underground music. That’s why I loved the 90s. You had a perfect blend of both. Diversity was at its best.

People will do what they want. Just don’t ask me to dumb down or be a certain way in order to be heard. That’s the part of the game that’s frustrating.

—–Scottie Spitten

Arize: You guys all got ill flows that have there own style, and they all seem to mesh together so well…How did this colab even come about?

Savvi: It was a natural progression really. Nothing was forced. It began as a group of individuals digging each others style and working together on individual solo projects until one day it was just time to bring it all together. Ldavoice and King Midas had a track they were about to start on, and Ldavoice was like “This will sound dope as a crew cut, everybody should hop on it.” The outcome was a song called ‘Only A Fool’, which is the first song ever recorded by the collective now known as H.I.S.D.

Arize: What’s the difference between hip-hop and rap? Especially in todays music industry?

Ldavoice: You can break that question down in many forms for instance, Hip Hop is a culture, Rap is what you do, or Hip Hop Music is very creative and usually made up of people who are serious music listeners and lovers while Rap is a less creative, corporate watered down version of Hip Hop, or Hip Hop is free expression while Rap is formulaic and very boxed in.

…And do you think a lot of people have the two confused? I think so, because they essentially come from the same things. They have the same Parents (Hip Hop) but each child decided to go there own way. It’s like Heavy Metal and Alternative, they both come from Rock, so they have some of the same elements, but they are distinctively different music’s.

Soul One: There is no difference really. There what you like and what you dont. Even the so called bad stuff has hip hop elements in it, just as the so called good stuff does. I judge records based on effectiveness. Is this song and/or album effective? Is the artist getting across their point and is their purpose fulfilled? Is it effective? There is no confusing hip hop and rap. Rapping is the lyrics. Hip Hop is the culture. But the music is all the same. Raps over beats.

E.Classic: Well. Hip Hop is a Culture. And Rap is a genre. anybody can rap, but not everyone can emcee. The artform of emceeing plays a important/positive role in Hip Hop Culture. Its one of the 4 elements. Rap is what we do / Hip Hop is how we live © KRS-One.

Hip Hop Music is very creative and usually made up of people who are serious music listeners and lovers while Rap is a less creative, corporate watered down version of Hip Hop

—–Ldavoice

Arize: “Only a Fool” is my favorite on your myspace page…Love the way yall address what a real MC is…

Scottie Spitten: There are so many aspects that make up a real mc, and people are gonna have different opinions about what makes one. To me a real mc is some one who can put words together and formulate them to make sense. A cat who can take you somewhere visually and put you right there with them. Being able to rock a crowd makes a real mc too. Like Rakim says MC means “Move the Crowd” LOL. No one thing makes a real mc man.

Arize: Being based in Houston, Texas what do you think makes people accept your sound and style? And does Houston have an influence on your style?

Scottie Spitten: Our sound is different from what people are used to hearing in Houston, which I think makes a difference. We also have different styles as MC’s, and that makes us appealing because you’re getting a different flavor from each artist or producer. Do you want gumbo with just chicken in it? Or do you want the sausage, shrimp, etc… in it too. LOL

Soul One: People accept it because its genuine, we think. Just as they accept an artist like Z-Ro. There’s authenticity in it. Gotta respect that even if it aint your cup of tea necessarily. Houston influences everything we do. We live in it.

It does affect the game overall sometimes negatively, but they’re just making music the way they know how and the way they like. Same as we are.

—–Soul One

Arize: You classify yourselves as Hip-Hop, Classic and Soul…How much of these ingredients go into each song?

Scottie Spitten: Those ingredients aren’t ever measured. LOL. I guess those ingredients are who we are, from how we were raised, the music we’ve grown up listening to, our environment. That’s just our core, who we are, but that’s not all we are. We’re always looking to expand and do different things. Me for one, I grew up listening to classic rock, pop rock, Alternative, whatever. If it’s dope, It’s dope. Period.

E.Classic: 1/3 of each hahaha!

Arize: So whats next for you guys with the album out and all?

Savvi: Back in the kitchen, ya know. Now’s the time that fans can taste the different flavors that comprise H.I.S.D. Solo and group projects [Blak Embassy, Scottie Spitten, Ldavoice, Savvi] from within the camp, outside collaborations, shows, and not too far on the horizon, the next HISD installment. More music, basically.

HISD-”Just Sayin”

HISD-”Only A Fool ”

Links:
www.myspace.com/hisd
www.peaceuvmine.com